Our precious little hanging plant guests have had quite a traumatic day. This afternoon Troy heard an awful commotion and noticed a tail sticking out of the nest with the eggs -- that had grown from 2 eggs to 5!! Then he noticed it was a blue and white tail -- evil blue jay! Troy banged on the window to make the blue jay go away. We were all afraid to go upset Momma bird anymore, seeing as how she was standing guard, hopping from the top of the plant hanger to the wind catcher next to it, twirling in the breeze. Occasionally she would peer down into the nest, I presumed to be sure the eggs were still safe.
Tonight I did a head count and egg count in the nests. It did not take long -- I was greeted by two empty nests. No eggs. No baby birds. Now I know that poor Momma bird was peering into her nests wondering, "What in the world just happened?!?!?" Sometimes this whole "way of the jungle" thing stinks.
8 comments:
Where is Troy's shotgun when you need it? He even has a pellet in the back of his head he could have used for such a life saving mission. I can see a plot for MI 4: Troy, rushing to save the poor unborn birds, while he is running he grabs the shotgun pellet from his outer skull region, shoots the evil blue jay and saves the day. I hope mama birds have shorter memories than the human sort.
Oh, on Mother's Day, too!!
Poor little mama bird...
Are you telling me the blue jay ate the eggs??!! Shoot the bird, Troy! These are hanging flowers not the jungle!!!
When Robert was a kid they lived by the river and had rat issues in their backyard. He would sit at the kitchen window with his 22 and take care of the rats through the window. I can't believe his mom let him do it... since it is illegal to shoot a firearm in the city limits... but it is one of his childhood memories he likes to share.
We once hand-raised a very precocious house sparrow named Charlie. . .she was a joy. The next year we got saddled with a mockingbird that was a total idiot. . .Sometimes those big ole birds, showy and sing-songy as they may be just act like the world is all theirs--including the hanging plants in it.
Condolences to Momma bird and the Stirman family.
R--
Our mother's day was spiced up by 4 orphaned raccoons that showed up under a neighbor's bush. They met with a better fate than the birds did. A neighbor knew a person who loves animals and they came and got the little critters.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! But here is the balance to that story--a week or two ago, the neighbor's cat killed the baby Stellar's Jay (I thought they were blue jays, but it turns out they are Stellar's Jays). Stellar's Jays mate long-term and boy, were those two mad bird parents! I felt so sorry for them.
What sad irony.
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